The present invention relates to a steel laminate gasket with a seal protecting member at an outer periphery of the gasket adjacent a hole of an engine.
A gasket is installed between two engine parts to seal a hole of the engine parts. In order to securely seal around the hole, the gasket is provided with sealing means around the hole, which provides high surface pressure when the gasket is tightened.
When an engine is operated, the engine together with the gasket vibrates, wherein the vibration is especially severe at a periphery of the engine, i.e. a periphery of a cylinder head. Therefore, a gasket, especially a cylinder head gasket receives a severe vibration at the periphery thereof. Due to the vibration, sealing pressure applied against the sealing means around the hole changes repeatedly. As a result, when the gasket is used for a long period of time, creep relaxation occurs at the sealing means, whereby fluid may leak from the hole.
In a gasket, there has been proposed no means to prevent creep relaxation of sealing means due to vibration of an engine, especially a cylinder head.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket, in which durability at a sealing portion around a hole is enhanced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket as stated above, which can substantially prevent creep relaxation of sealing means of a gasket due to vibration of an engine.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket as stated above, which can effectively reduce vibration of the engine at the periphery thereof.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a steel laminate gasket as stated above, which can be easily and economically manufactured.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.